Month: February 2018

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Fresh off being named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game played in a reimagined format that seemingly reinvigorated the February festivities, LeBron James urged the league to pump the brakes when it comes to potential changes to the playoffs. “It’s cool to mess around with the All-Star Game — we proved you

A former Cleveland Browns player was on the phone this week, advocating that he would not draft a quarterback if he were running the Browns. Guys come out unprepared these days and teams give them too much money, he said, adding that the Browns should build the team and then place the quarterback. Sort of

4:10 PM ET ESPN staff Top seeds Dominika Cibulkova and Zhang Shuai both enjoyed straight sets victories to get their respective Hungarian Ladies Open campaigns off to a strong start. No. 1 seed Cibulkova saw off wildcard Fanny Stollar 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday while second seed Zhang advanced to the last 16 in Budapest with a

6:05 PM ET ESPN staff Third seed Lucas Pouille advanced to the Open 13 quarterfinals Wednesday after a hard-fought victory against French compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Open Sud de France champion Pouille eventually outlasted his opponent 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 after two hours and five minutes on court in Marseille. No. 7 seed Damir Dzumhur produced

PITTSBURGH — Le’Veon Bell says he and the Pittsburgh Steelers are closer in negotiations than they were a year ago. It’s time to find out just how close. The franchise tag window is here, and if the Steelers use the tag as expected, Bell and the team have the next five months to work out

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann and his son Ruan will face no action from police over an incident in a nightclub, Gloucestershire Constabulary have confirmed. The incident took place at the 21 Club in Cheltenham in December, shortly after Zebre had been defeated 69-12 in a Challenge Cup match at Kingsholm. Paul Gustard helped mould

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with outfielder Carlos Gomez, MLB.com reported Wednesday. Gomez, who turned 32 in December, appeared in 105 games for Texas last season and was the primary center fielder after All-Star Ian Desmond left in free agency. Gomez is expected to play right field in

Derbyshire have signed Duanne Olivier as an overseas player for the first half of the 2018 season. The 25-year-old South African seamer should, subject to final clearance from Cricket South Africa, be available for the county’s first seven County Championship matches and the entire Royal London One-Day Cup campaign. “We identified new-ball bowling as an

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt has hired former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke to coach the Vols’ running backs, the school announced Wednesday. Pruitt and Weinke worked together last season at Alabama and were a part of the Crimson Tide’s 2017 national championship staff, Pruitt as the defensive coordinator and Weinke as an offensive analyst. Prior

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has undergone surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, a league source confirmed to ESPN. Jeffery originally suffered the injury in training camp but opted to play through the discomfort. Alshon Jeffery (17), who had 73 yards receiving and a touchdown in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the

SARASOTA, Fla. — Outfielder Colby Rasmus has decided to return to baseball after walking away this past summer, and he has signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Rasmus was in camp Wednesday to finish up his physical. He received an invitation to big league spring training. Colby Rasmus stepped away from the

NEW YORK — Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard took the witness stand on Wednesday at a New York City trial to accuse the United States Tennis Association of negligence that she says led to her slipping on a locker room floor and hurting her head. Bouchard testified that a wet floor caused her to slip and

1:30 PM GMT ESPN staff Conor O’Shea has made three changes to the Italian side which lost to Ireland as he goes in search of his first win in this year’s Six Nations against France in Marseille on Friday. Two of the three changes come in the front row where Leonardo Ghiradldini and Andrea Lovotti

Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Stoger explains what it means to finally be able to see Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle link up with one another. On Thursday, Borussia Dortmund will look to reach the round of 16 in the Europa League in the return leg against Serie A’s Atalanta. Thanks to Chelsea loanee

Congolese giants AS Vita Club were among a number of high-profile clubs to advance to the second round of the CAF Champions League on Wednesday, but Sudanese heavyweights Al-Merrikh were one of several big clubs to fall at the first hurdle. Les Dauphins Noirs, African champions in 1973, won 2-1 away at Mighty Wanderers of

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $600,000 by the NBA for saying his team should tank this season. Cuban called tanking “brutal” but acknowledged that he told his team that it would be best to lose for the rest of the 2017-18 season. Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that the fine

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Defending champion Elina Svitolina needed more than two hours to overcome Qiang Wang 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships. However, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko slumped to her sixth loss in nine matches, and fourth opening-match loss of the season. The 20-year-old Latvian, who

AC Milan will take a big advantage back to the San Siro after sweeping aside Ludogorets Razgrad in the Europa League. Yonghong Li (centre) has hit out at ‘fake’ reports. AC Milan president Yonghong Li has dismissed claims that he faces bankruptcy in China and condemned Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera for accusing him of